Ultraviolet-B (UVB) irradiation induced the synthesis of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and stromelysin-1 (MMP-3) in skin fibroblasts, causing skin photoaging and skin tumor progression. The effect of honey bee venom (HBV) collected from Apis mellifera on the expression of MMP-1 and MMP-3 in UVB irradiated human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) was investigated. After UVB irradiation, HBV markedly reduced UV-induced MMP-1 by 50 – 80 % and MMP-3 protein levels by 50 – 85 % compared with that of UVBirradiated controls. It also reduced MMP-1 and MMP-3 mRNA expression. Furthermore, HBV accelerated the recovery of the damaged of UVB-irradiated HDF. These results suggest that HBV is a photoprotective agent and could be used as a potential agent in preventing photoaging.